a brutal nor'easter. stay with us for the latest. "a.c. 360" starts right now. we begin tonight right here in the nation's capital after a history-making election night with two simple words, what next? what next for the men and women of the capital behind me, what next for the party that tried and failed to retake the senate and white house and who ran on a platform that a majority of americans saw as too extreme and a demographic base that now seems too narrow? what next for them? what next for the man who won re-election despite a slow-healing economy, who returned from chicago tonight and came home to face rapidly approaching challenges on taxes, the budget, the global economy and a whole lot more? for president obama, what next? today markets took a nose dive because investors see what's coming and worried that washington simply cannot fix it. that's why we are here tonight

again. in the speeches last night and the statements today, everyone president obama and mitt romney to the leaders in the building behind me all found ways of saying they get it, they understand the challenge and will rise to meet them. listen. >> we want our children to live in america that isn't burdened by debt and isn't weakened by inequality and isn't threatened by the destructive power of a warming planet. >> the nation as you know, is at a critical point. and at a time like this we can't risk partisan bickering and political posturing. >> if there is a mandate in yesterday's results, it's a mandate for us to find a way to work together on solutions to the challenges we all face as a nation. >> it's better to dance than to fight. it's better to work together. everything doesn't have to be a fight. >> well, tonight, what is next on the fiscal cliff, on the rest of the president's agenda. on whether and how the republicans will deal with a diverse electorate. tonight we are looking forward not so much looking back to last night.

we begin with dana bash on the coming fiscal cliff when tax cuts expire and the budget cuts kick in. >> welcome to the capital. you heard everyone singing the kumbaya tune. but when you got down to the next center, of course there was a but, you heard john boehner in particular, talking about the fact that on the issue that has divided them over the past year or so on this fiscal cliff issue, taxes, saying very clearly he does not want to raise taxes. but he also put out an olive branch, anderson, he said maybe he would be for some kind of -- raising some kind of revenue. he didn't say what that means but talked about broad tax reform as it relates to entitlement reform. on the other side of the capital, you saw right over there, the senate majority leader harry reid feeling like he was leveraging here, it was a clear-cut issue, but also because of the mechanics of it.

if nobody does anything, taxes for everybody will go up. so democrats realize that, they feel like any have leverage and they're probably right. >> and there's motivation to try to do something on that. >> exactly. >> there was a private conference call that boehner had with his caucus. what do you know about it? >> we were told this was a call where all house republicans were invited to this. he was very sober and he tried to buck everybody up and say, the words he used is that we are the last line of defense from an america that barack obama would design. but he also had a clear message for his rank and file, which is hold your fire. i need to have running room. not too mix too many metaphors here, but i need to have some running room to figure out how we can do this the right way. i'm told that he said he won't let the white house box him in. he is going to be the point person like the president was a year ago. >> we'll see what president obama does to reach out to

boehner and repair that relationship as well. dana bash, thank you. >> exactly. >> i next want to turn to lindsay graham who said, if mitt romney loses and republicans say it was because he wasn't conservative enough he'll, quote, go nults. senator, americans -- first of all, how are you doing today? have you gone nuts? i have heard a lot of republicans saying just that. >> well, i just think the honest truth is that we have a demographic problem. if we had had 40% of the hispanic vote mitt romney would be president. bush 43 got 41%, mccain got 31% and romney got 27%. we're going in the wrong direction. >> how do you change that? i mean, how do you change that? because you have extremes in your party who on the immigration issue don't want to see some sort of a compromise. >> well, yeah, here's what i want to see. i want to see a solution that will not lead to 12 million illegal immigrants 20 years from now. i'm willing to deal with the 12 million in a firm and fair way

but i want a comprehensive solution that prevents the third wave of illegal immigration. that's all i ask, and i think that's all americans want. i think most hispanic voters didn't have a fondness for president obama. his job approval rating among hispanics was about 50%. i think they saw him as the lesser of two evils between obama and us. he didn't lift a finger to do comprehensive immigration reform like he promised. we'll be back in the game. immigration is a national issue. it is an american issue and there is a solution to be found out there if people want to find it. >> americans are going to see massive tax increases if congress fails to strike a deal on the so-called fiscal cliff. it's not just tax increases. it's budget cuts. every american will feel the effects. what level of hope do you have that congress can come together and strike a deal? there's always talk we're going to work together and it never materializes. >> right. it is pretty high, actually. simpson-bowles is the way forward.

what did simpson-bowles do? they didn't raise tax rates they eliminated deductions. all but two. interest on your home with a cap and charitable deductions and and they had lower rates at 25% corporate rate. the top individual rate was around 30%. they took that trillion dollars from eliminationing deductions and exemptions. they d they put some of it on the debt and buydown rates and did entitlement reform. that is what i think will wind up doing and we'll come together on discretionary spending cuts. i'm optimistic after hearing john boehner today that revenue would be on the table in the form of simpson-bowles. i think that's the magic way forward. and the democrats have to do entitlement reform. >> but if you look at the polls, people actually voted for, a lot of them support raising taxes on the wealthiest americans. boehner said he would not do that. he would not support it, harry reid said democrats would insist on those taxes being raised. >> all i would suggest is that every bipartisan group has looked at this, the gang of six. three republicans, three

democrats, simpson-bowles rejected higher tax rates. they raised revenue by eliminating deductions and exemptions. taking that revenue back into the treasury, applying it to the debt and buying down rates to create economic growth and some future economic growth -- >> does that really get you where you need to be on deficit reduction? >> oh, absolutely it does. it absolutely does. there's a trillion dollars we give away every year through the tax code. apply some of that to debt and future economic growth sets some of that aside to get out of debt. raising tax rates was rejected by simpson-bowles and the gang of six. there will be no republican that will go down that road because it will hurt job creation. tax policy and job creation go hand in hand. >> this president got re-elected very clearly saying that is what he wanted to do. raise taxes on the wealthiest americans. the republican challenger said he did not want to do that and

he did not get elected. doesn't that give president obama and the democrats some right to push for raising taxes on the wealthiest americans? >> well, i think the house got re-elected. their mandate is to not raise tax rates. go back to simpson-bowles. simpson-bowles rejected the idea of higher tax rates. they eliminated deductions. the people who will give up most deductions are the wealthy among us. pick a rate, 30%, and tell people you have to pay it. how many americans in the upper income level fully pay 35%. the tax code is a social engineering document. to reward friends and punish enemies, flatten the tax rate, make people pay the rate you pick, have a 25% corporate rate to create jobs here in america. if you have bad tax policy, you're going to have bad job creation. simpson-bowles is the way to go forward. i'm confident that's what we will do. >> we'll watch it, senator graham, appreciate your time. coming up next, john king

and candy crowley, also david gergen and gloria borger. when you listen to senator graham, couple his words with two congressional leaders today. do you get a sense that we're looking at anything other than gridlock? you can say simpson-bowles all you want. both sides disagree on this. >> you're going to hear a lot of simpson-bowles. you do have amid speaker boehner planted a flag today, he said i want to be conciliatory, i want to listen. harry reid said i'm not going to draw any lines in the stands. the burden is on the president of the united states and even a bit more so than usual, speaker boehner feels burned by the last time they went down the path. he thought he had a deal with the president. and he thinks the president walked away from it. is this a game of chicken? who blinks first? the president gives up higher taxes on the rich for long term tax reform? republicans give up something in

the short term to get more in the long term. that's going to be the kabuki dance, if you will, and the stakes are enormous. >> candy, can you see where the president gives up higher taxes on the wealthy? he did get re-elected on this and he's been clear on this particular issue. this was a major thing that he ran on. >> yes, and he said if he got a bill that did not include the end of tax hikes for the wealthy, he would veto it. but that was pre-election, this is post election. you know the pressure i think is on all of them but let's remember the pressure for the president. one of the things that is difficult about a coalition that puts you in office is every part of the coalition wants to protect something. they think they helped put this guy back in office. so you already hear folks on the left saying do not touch social security. do not touch medicare. there is no need to do that. there's pressure on that side and on the side of him that said in his acceptance speech last night, and i'm going to work and i'm going to -- we're going to get this done. so i think the pressure on the

president is probably even more so than that on republicans. >> gloria, do you agree with that, congressional approval levels are at an all-time low. >> yeah, like 17% or something like that. i think there is pressure on all of them. i think what you have is a divided country and they have this huge speed bump, the question of tax cuts for the rich. they have to get around that. maybe they will raise the bar. how you define wealthy. i think everybody understands that there is an outline for the framework here to detach a form. mitt romney talked about it in his campaign. he said cap deducks, he gave them an idea, let's do this. they have to figure out a way to get around this. my big question, what role does paul ryan play in all of this. he's pretty far out there. he's now a national figure. said no new taxes. and john boehner is going to have to try to lead some

compromises in his own caucus, and he's got now a new national leader. >> do you see compromise as possible? because of the fiscal cliff. >> here is the thing. in the olden days when i covered the congress, i used to say, they will end up doing the right thing. i no longer think that. i now believe that they could all retreat into their corners. the only thing that gives me hope is that it's in their own ultimate self-interest to get something done. >> it's in everyone's self interest. david, as you survey the landscape of the incoming congress, do you see any likelihood that these members will be able to come together and work with the president on big items, immigration reform, climate change, tax reform, entitlement reform? >> i do, anderson. i'm increasingly optimistic we won't go over the fiscal cliff. the sharp drop in the markets today send a clear signal to congress and the president that you guys better not let us do this. that you will throw us into a recession next year. barack obama doesn't have to run

for office again but the rest of these folks do. they may often be dumb, but they're not crazy. i think the way to get there is to be careful not to isolate just the question of tax hikes on the wealthy. if you isolate that, you're going to get everybody dug in. what you need to do is put that question into a broader framework. how do we raise revenues which john boehner said, he was open to, and he would favor that, and how do we get spending down through entitlement reform? republicans are willing to come to the table on some form of tax increases that don't come out of middle class and also democrats are willing to go along with entitlement reform, you could get a structure of a deal. you can't get a real deal before january 1, but you can get the basic structure and direct your committees within six months or a year to come back, put the deal together. >> will they get there is the big question, i think, anderson.

can they get there? we talked about the tea party last time. they came out of election, they said, we won't do these things, they wouldn't do those things. some of the new democrats, elizabeth warren, from massachusetts, said i will never cut medicare. what happens? >> and maybe the president will actually come up with a plan. he's been re-elected. he doesn't have to run again. >> i'm curious to see -- does he change the way he interacts with congress? i mean, does he take some of the criticism he's gotten in this race and sort of figure out -- >> invite them over to the white house maybe once in a while? have them over for dinner? that's a great idea. >> thanks. when we come back, i want to break down the demographics, key to obama's victory. and the republican trouble winning the female vote, and as lindsey graham said, the latino vote, huge difference there.

i believe we can seize this future together. because we are not as divided as our politics suggest, not as cynical as pundits believe. we are greater than the sum of our individual ambitions, and we remain more than a collection of red states and blue states. we are and forever will be the united states of america. >> another moment from president

obama's acceptance speech from chicago in the early hours of the morning. the fact that it wasn't a concession speech due in no small part president obama and the democratic party managed to better reflect america's growing diversity. they did that in part through a computerized data crunching operation so sophisticated, so closely guarded that camping spokesman ben la bolt called it their nuclear codes. john king back to break down the numbers. >> anderson, it was their nuclear code, perhaps. they did what they said they would do. if you go back to your notes from a year, year and a half ago, they said they would identify their voters, find them, keep in touch with them, and we're going to turn them out. men, 47% shaded red. governor romney won. but women, 53%, if you are winning, as the president did, 55% of the biggest chunk of the electorate and you're competitive elsewhere, you're on your way to winning the election. this is the women vote here. that's one piece. let me slide it over. that's nationally. and it plays out in swing states. a state like colorado, the president won the men's vote as

well. men, 51% of the electorate. once a widely republican state in colorado. look at that, more of a classic swing state. it's closer here in colorado. the president won by being competitive among women as well and one more. a little touchy, had a tough couple days. 48% in ohio. 52% in ohio women. once again, look at the gender gap. this is just the gender gap, and bang. especially college educated women in the suburbs, critical to the obama coalition. that's not the only piece. let's come back and look nationally by race. we saw this number last night, we knew governor romney in trouble. 72% of the electorate was white. governor romney needed that 74%, 75%. african-americans, 13% of the population again. a lot of people thought that would drop. high african-american unemployment, not history the second time around. obama campaign, that operation you saw, found them, turned them out. in philadelphia, cleveland, elsewhere across the country. then look at this, the president got 93% of their votes. 13% of the electorate.

but you're getting 93% of the votes. this is historic. latinos cross double digits. 10% nationally for the first time. and this is not only part of the president's victory coalition, this is a long term generational crisis for the republican party. seven in ten votes among latinos nationally for the president. 27% for governor romney. it's not just nationally, you look at states like nevada where the white vote is smaller why? because the latino vote is nearly 20% of the vote in the state of nevada. the president gets 21%. you can't win. the white vote smaller, why? latino vote, nearly 20% of the vote in the state of nevada. the president gets 71%. can't win. you can't win. the on other side can't win. in colorado, much more of a white vote. 78%. and latinos, 14%. and the president getting 75%. let me shift walls, one more minute of your time. i want to show you this.

nevada used to be a swing state in presidential politics, colorado used to be republican, and florida a swing state in presidential politics, if democrats keep getting 66%, 70% of the latino vote, watch this. the darker the area, the higher the latino population, so in navy, colorado, and new mexico, it's almost game over. in florida, still waiting for the final results. latino vote critical to the president's lead. if you look at the state of texas in the long term, and if the republicans don't solve this, we might be talking about texas as a blue state, anderson. >> wow. amazing to look at the maps like that, the demographics. john, appreciate that. given that, how does the republican party evolve? what is next for them? someone on the extreme right, not a lot of several examination going on. take a look at this from "the american spectator." doomed beyond all hope of redemption, dark thoughts on the meaning of the catastrophic election. that's from "the american spectator." from a tea party group in ohio, under the headline, we mourn the loss of our country, there's this quote. today i wear black. the day america died. from a conservative interviewed by the liberal "mother jones." this is not hyperbole, this country is done. the writing is on the wall,

dead. and from the billionaire romney surrogate who should go unnamed, this election is a total sham and travesty. we are not a democracy. joining us a panel of republicans, erick erickson, kristen soltys and ari fleischer. alex, we talked about the challenge of reaching hispanic voters. are the republicans ready to fundamentally change their approach? is that what they need to do or are they looking for a better way to package the positions they've already got? >> i don't think this is a small thing. this is not a matter of changing your positions on a couple of issues. we need to remember that the philosophy that republicans hold which is freedom and opportunity for everybody is what works and it's the reason people come to this country and have for generations anyway. nobody comes to this country and says, i'm going to get more government benefits here. most people who come here still come here because this is the land of opportunity.

a land of endless promise. that's what the republican message needs to be. we need to be the party of yes and the party of more. this is a place that has open arms for everybody, and democrats, yeah, you get more from government. but there's an end to that, it's going broke. with republicans you get more from the economy, which is the real reason you come here. >> ahead of the vote, there are predictions young voters wouldn't turn out for the president like they did four years ago. according to exit pool -- polls, your party hasn't made any headway in reaching them. what are republicans still doing wrong on that? >> actually, young voters did break heavily for the president but not as heavily as they broke four years ago. republicans still have a long way to go. this election, hopefully, busted two myths about them. first is they won't show up. turnout now is 19%, it's never been below 17%.

a lot of my colleagues got that wrong. thought they would stay home. it's clear this is a new world. the other thing that's different, you saw voters in their 30s actually were the group where obama did better than he did four years ago. the young voters for obama last time, they got older and stuck with the president. it's important for republicans to realize that this isn't a matter of young voters who will grow up and become conservative. this is going to resonate throughout these voters political lifetimes. >> ari, part of the problem with young voters may be your party's positions on social issues. a lot of democrats will say that. a lot of conservatives are nostalgic about the reagan era. that was a time when there was a lot more diversity of opinion on social issues. president obama mentioned gay people on every campaign stop. i don't think i ever heard mitt romney that there were gay and lesbian americans in existence. and support among young voters for things like same-sex marriage runs much higher.

>> if you want people to vote for you, you have to be more comfortable talking to people. that means republicans have to go into communities they typically don't go to and speak and listen. and that connection, part of that connection is, he knows how i'm feeling in life. let me give you two other factors are are huge, how america is changing. cultural issues, anderson if you're married, are you voting republican by 29 points according to the exit polls. if you are single, you voted democrat by 14 points. think of the gap between single and married, and also huge issue, religion. america is increasingly becoming a secular country. 17% of americans told exit pollsters that they never go to church or synagogue. 29-point among those who never go. those who go every week, plus 19 republican. the cultural divide are turning the republican party, red state/blue state issue, into a older party, a more church-going

party of married families and children. democrats are increasingly younger, more secular and unmarried. and the numbers don't look good for republicans. >> eric, where do you come down on did the party go too far right? should it be more center right? or are you of the opinion that romney was too center right and not conservative enough? >> i think the problem with mitt romney it depended on the time of day and week as to what position he was and where he was. that was part of the problem. look, when you have a guy who agrees by the way in the first debate, which everyone says he won, he agreed substantively with barack obama seven of ten positions, when instead of drawing bright lies you're trying to blurry them to do this passive-aggressive campaign, where you say i'll be a better manager but not tell them where you stand, people are going to go with the politician they know, not the politician they don't know. you have to be able to articulate your position for the

country. >> eric, are you just saying that what the gop had was a mitt romney problem or a gop problem? if it is, what do you think it is? >> i think it's both. part of the problem republicans have, they have been successful for 30 years and have forgotten they can't just talk inside the echo chamber. they have to explain things to people. when you're talking to hispanic voters, it's hard to woo hispanic voters when they think you hate them. it's not the policies that republicans advocate that hurt hispanics but they get that vibe from republicans. >> you think it's just the way the message is delivered as opposed to what the policies actually are? >> freedom and equality of opportunity sell to everyone. the republicans have a great message to sell but they have to remember that people come from countries that that's not the message. >> anderson, there are things that republicans need to fix. we are against big government, unless all of a sudden big government agrees with us or we're running it, especially on social issues, freedom nationally, values locally. get government out of our lives. i think we saw a lot of excitement from ron paul, a lot

of youth there with ron paul coming into the party. that's the future of the party i think. we can't cheat and cut across the track and hug big government when it agrees with us. >> but the future of the party is for economic growth and economic ideas. number one problem remains debt. and that's still something republicans have to lead the way in solving. >> we have to leave it there. eric, kristen, alex, ari, thank you very much. appreciate it. let me know what you think about this, whether you're democrat or republican, send me a message @andersoncooper. coming up what is next for mitt romney? a look at the former governor's political future. if he has any. will he go the way of mike dukakis, disappear from the national stage? that when we continue. >> announcer: you never know when, but thieves can steal your identity and turn your life upside down. >> hi. >> hi.

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i so wish i had been able to fulfill your hopes to lead the country in a different direction, but the nation chose another leader. and so ann and i join with you to ernestly pray for him and

for this great nation. >> mitt romney conceding the election, he spoke for five minutes, half as long as john mccain did in 2008. governor romney also said this. listen. >> i want to thank paul ryan for all he's done for our campaign. and for our country. besides my wife, ann, paul is the best choice i have ever made. and i trust his intellect, hard work and commitment to principle will continue to contribute to the good of our nation. >> paul ryan wasn't able to deliver wisconsin, his home state. obviously key battleground. its voters helped push president obama over the victory line like it did four years ago. he did win his house seat. he ran for an eighth term concurrently with his vice presidential bid. he's expected to return to washington.

mitt romney's next step isn't quite as clear. candy crowley, one-term governorship, and a republican base that clearly was never too enthusiastic about him. and is today kind of attacking him. does mitt romney have a political future on the national stage? >> i'm not sure mitt romney wants a political future on the national stage. this was not an easy fit. mitt romney with this particular iteration of the republican party. if you have a base to return to, but if you're bob dole who quit the senate to run, you do tend to kind of disappear. people don't come back to those who lost elections for them. and look for a lot of things. but if you're a john mccain, you can go back to the senate and you can certainly turn that into something. and john mccain has become one of the most powerful voices of

criticism of president obama when it comes to foreign policy. john kerry, same thing, but no place in politics, no elective office that mitt romney holds. i don't see where he easily fits back into this party at this point. >> he can become a cable tv host. >> who knows. >> with one of those networks out there. what do you think? you think he has -- a lot of the republican party today -- >> he's gone, he's over, history. it w it sounded like a valedictory. he didn't talk about our cause will live, we're going to continue to fight in the future. it was sort of like he was going to recede, he had done it twice, he lost. there are a lot of people who regarded him as the transitional figurine when he was the nominee of the party. so i think he'll go back to business, maybe to bain capital, who knows. i don't see politics in his future. >> what about paul ryan? he's long been considered one of the rising stars of the republican congress. will he just pick up where he left off?

or do you see him try to broaden out, claim the mantle of the party standard bearer? >> he has time. listen, he has something that is very hard for a house member to get and that is nationwide recognition. he is also a bonafide brainiac when it comes to budget things. you may not agree with what he would like to do the budget but he understands the budget. there's still a place for him there. he certainly does speak for the conservative wing in the fiscal part but he's also very pragmatic. yes, i think he can -- there's been some talk maybe he should go to a think tank and hang out for a while and think those big thoughts. it's a nice spot, he clearly wanted to keep it if he wasn't going to get the vice presidency. i think -- you know, he's young. he's 41 or 42. i think he's one of the contenders when you look four years from now, if that's the route he wants to go. >> candy crowley appreciate it, gloria borger, thanks for joining me. joining me now, former new york city mayor rudy giuliani.

thanks very much for being with us. looking at last night's exit poll results, do you think it's clear that your party has a big problem on its hands reaching out to hispanic americans, for instance? >> sure. >> hispanic vote is decreasing. what do you do about that? >> agree we have a big problem reaching out to hispanic vote. what was it, 25%? i ran for mayor of new york and each time i ran, i got a higher percentage of the latino vote. i think that president bush had us up to 44%, 48% nationally. since then we've been declining. i think there's one big issue, lindsey graham would agree with this. i just talked to lindsay about this a couple days ago, we have to get over this immigration reform hurdle. president bush was on the right track with comprehensive immigration reform. if we passed that, we would be a party that probably had a 40%, 45% hispanic base. >> how do you sell the message to the fringe of your party?

that's not a message they want to hear. >> big opportunity lost in mitt romney losing, because that's one of the thing mitt romney could have accomplished with a democratic senate, republican house, a new president, he probably could have gotten 100, 150 republican votes for comprehensive immigration reform, which means to the hispanic community, being sensible about the 12, 14, 15 million people who are here. he can't deport them all, can't chase them all out. sure, you can focus on the ones who are criminals or doing bad things. i know that community really well and 90% of them are hard-working people who are actually making a contribution. so why the heck do we want to hound them? that's the major thing that hurts us, and -- >> it's interesting about your record. you're someone who's held positions on social issues that are not in step with the rest of your party as it is right now. according to exit polls, unmarried women went for the president by nearly 40 points.

do you think what democrats said was a war on women message resonated? should your party adjust its approach on women's issues, reproductive issues, same-sex marriage? does there need to be evolution there? >> i ran that way 2008 and didn't get the nomination, and nobody with my views ran in 2012. frankly, anderson, i didn't run in 2012, because i didn't think i could be nominated being pro choice and pro gay rights. i signed -- as mayor of new york, i signed the first in the nation civil union bill. that was held -- >> didn't you officiate at a gay wedding once? >> no, didn't do that. >> you had friends that got married or something. >> didn't do that. still believe marriage should be between a man and a woman, but i'm very open to civil unions, and i'm also open to allowing states to decide this on a state by state basis. if new york wants gay marriage, fine. if some other state doesn't want to have gay marriage -- here we are a party that believes in state's rights.

until we get into an issue on gay marriage and then we don't believe in state's rights. >> and here's a party that doesn't believe in heavy federal government involvement in people's private lives unless there are certain issues. it's something alex castellanos brought up earlier. again, how do things evolve in that? do they need to evolve for the gop? >> my ideal republican party would be fiscally conservative on foreign policy and military policy. and on social issues, we would be libertarian. we would say we're going to stay out of your pocketbook and stay out of your bedroom. i think that party could be a majority party. >> people said -- sorry. go ahead. >> i think if we were running that way this time, we win by 4% or 5%. >> what about the tea party? there are people who say the tea party wanted pure candidates, i put that in quotes. your party lost some unlosable races, they may have cost republicans control of the senate. some say republicans can't win with the tea party but they

can't win without them. a lot of republicans have trouble bringing this issue up. >> i think what we really should try to do with the tea party, get them to figure out what are your priority issues? the whole reason they got established, was big government, heavy taxes, obama care, government trying to direct your life and allow a certain amount of flexibility on social issues. if we could organize around fiscal conservatism, conservatism on foreign policy and military policy and allow people to disagree with each other, sort of in the ronald reagan mold, if you agree with me on eight out of ten issues you are my friend. somehow we're going to have to get around to that kind of party, otherwise -- i've been saying this for ten years, otherwise, we give away -- look at the map. we give away the entire northeast and we give away the entire west coast. by the time we get to the electoral vote, we have to win by one state, two states, and when you get a good campaign against you as barack obama had a great ground game and a great

campaign, then you lose. >> i have to go, but i want to ask you very briefly, do you think mitt romney has a role in the national stage in the republican party or does he disappear from the national stage? >> we don't do that. republicans don't reject prior candidates. >> i heard a lot of rejection today. >> i know. the day after we reject them. and a year later they have a role in the party. mitt romney ran a very, very good race. reality is, he's a very intelligent man, he has terrific ideas. he's someone that will play a big role in the party. will he be a candidate again? i doubt that. there are an awful lot of candidates coming along. will he be someone we respect, admire? i ran against mitt romney, and i saw in 2012 a mitt romney that i really, really admired. >> mayor giuliani, thank you for being on. i know you've had a lot day.

second terms can be tricky. we're going to look at the pitfalls and possibilities. stay tuned for that.

welcome back. barack obama won entry to the

ranks of two-term presidents. the day after george bush was re-elected, john king asked him about the freedom of winning a second term. listen. >> and also whether you feel more free to do any one thing in a second term that perhaps you were politically constrained from doing on the first. >> you asked if i feel free? let me put it to you this way. i earned political capital and now i intend to spend it. it's my style. >> president bush forged ahead with an ambitious domestic agenda but his second term ended with a financial crash. president clinton spent the second term mired in that sex scandal. second-term presidents are lame ducks which brings its own set of problem. let's speak with cornell becher belcher and alex castellanos is also back. cornell, first of all, i would have expected you to take today off, maybe a couple months off. >> your producers kept calling me. >> we tracked you down. i apologize about that.

alex, let me start with you. biggest difference is president doesn't have to worry about running again. i know you don't agree with president obama's policies. you heard president bush, and re-election brings with it a certain amount of political capital. dow think it does with president obama? >> yes. i think free at last. it doesn't have to answer to voters. he has tremendous flexibility now. it happens to politicians and it happens to athletes. once they've won a big one, once they've won a major championship, they are -- the pressure is off and they can become better athletes. same thing is true with politicians. barack obama has an opportunity now to kind of lift his eyes over the horizon and see how history will judge him, not how the next election will judge him. he has two things he has to deal with, debt and economic growth. he can focus on that like a laser and politics will get smaller, and the presidency, i think can get bigger. >> cornell, what do you see is different? what could change now?

>> i think that's well said. look, this time, the presidents, whoever they are, start thinking about legacy. one of the big things they can get accomplished where they don't have to worry about re-election, what alex said, clearly the debt and economic growth there, but also i have got to think -- i have no information on this. poverty, a big issue on the left. his left base has been screaming about. and let's also understand, poverty is some place this president started. you know, he started organizing for churches in urban areas, people in poverty. so i also have to think, this is my dark horse issue here in the second term. it's a real look at poverty, and what we do about poverty in this country. >> van, what do you see changing? do you think the president changes style? how do you think things are different now? >> i mean, he will focus now on this question of the debt and deficit. he's been clear about that. he wants to do it with a balanced approach.

i do think he wants to be the president that was able to solve some of the problems he sees with entitlements. there's going to be some thunder on the left. his liberal base is going to be very concerned we don't have a 10-1 deal on revenues versus spending. but that's going to be there. but i really do think that cornell touched on something very important. the african-american community has been very patient and very quiet, as a lot of pain and suffering has begun to accumulate in the black community, this community has lost almost 60%, 70% of its wealth in the housing debacle, job crisis, kids in prison, urban poverty, has not been discussed yet. this community still came out nonetheless, 93% for the president and won ohio for him. i think there is an option for him to turn back to this base that's been there for him and find some path forward. some jobs for youth program, something like that, could be a part of his legacy.

>> cornell, very briefly, i haven't asked you about last night. was there ever a moment in the final couple of days where you thought the president was not going to win? >> here's the thing, anderson. it happened the way i laid it out. i said it would be tight in a lot of states, but from an electoral map standpoint we would be solid. we were going to be solid in ohio. we were going to be solid in virginia. and i think we're going to win florida because we put in a ground operation there. you know, we expanded the electorate there and we ran really good programs there in key battleground states. a lot changed from nationally but if you look at the coalition in those battleground states, not a lot changed from the way it looked in '08. >> guys, tanks very much. the other big story we're following tonight, there's hundreds of thousands of people still suffering in the wake of superstorm sandy, this is what they do not want to hear, take a look at that. staten island, new york, blanketed in snow. another storm hitting the east

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tonight the northeast is getting hit hard by another storm, a nor'easter that began pounding the region today. i want to show you some of the hardest hit areas. heavy rain, snow, 60-mile-an-hour wind. for the battered jersey shore, cities across new york and new jersey. staten island, hard hit by sandy, 3,500 customers without power. it is dark, they are cold. look at that, meteorologist rob marciano is in staten island

tonight. he joins me now. rob, another storm. how bad is it? >> well, you can see the snow coming down, it's cold enough for snow. the winds are blowing, as you mentioned. we are just a couple hundred yards from the ocean, where this time during sandy, the water was up and over my shoulders. so this area was decimated. the houses aren't completely destroyed, but flood damage everywhere, now it's covered with snow. 3 to 4 inches of it. the kids were out here earlier making light of it. they were having a good time. inside this home, they only have light because they are plugged into our satellite truck. for them, it's all about a matter of survival. >> i went through the most pain that i ever went through in my whole life from being electrocuted trying to get back into my house to watching all my possessions and my family almost dying. a few days without sleep, you can't sleep when you are living in a house with propane and you are worried about, you're not

going to wake up from carbon monoxide poisoning. >> this has been a week from hell. i mean, you know, i'm grateful that i have my family. i could have lost three of them and my husband out there to the water coming up so fast. >> your heart goes out to these people, anderson. it's been over a week now, and they are physically and emotionally beaten down, and now this. with the winds whipping, those people who are lucky enough to have gotten powerback, they may lose it again tonight with this heavy, wet snow and the winds picking up with this storm. certainly unusual and not what they needed. >> quickly, how long will it last around that area? >> well, the snow probably will last at least through midnight, maybe to day break. we could see several more inches. we have winter storm warnings up, can you believe that? after a hurricane came through just over a week ago. high-wind warnings up as well. it's a dangerous situation and won't be done until at least day break tomorrow. >> rob, appreciate the reporting, get warm. we'll be right back.

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